My Marvelous Mom

I found an old photo of my Mom with my Papa Lolo's jeep. She said Tito Ben taught her to drive in secret. They would use Papa Lolo's jeep without his knowledge. Growing up with five other siblings they'd always do secret stuff like turning back the clock so they can stay out later. And they always stuck together when they got in trouble. 

I did exactly the same, mostly on my own since my siblings are much older than me. I think Mom was strictest with me. I always got an earful when I had a wound or when I got home late. Well, I still did what all kids do haha. Eventually it was Daddy who became stricter in my late twenties. They were both very protective of me.

I learned diskarte from my Mom. I got my program management skills from her. There's nothing she cannot solve. Her secret weapon has always been prayer. Whenever I go to her room I always see her either praying or sewing (or telebabad with her amigas). She's always calm, but oh boy, don't make her angry. To this day she always prays for us.

One thing I wish I got from my Mom is her spine of steel. In times of disaster she's always on top of things. I've never seen her panic. I can't imagine how she was able to take care of her siblings when they got sick one after another. And she was in her mid-70s when she took care of me after heart surgery. She's a rockstar. 

My beautiful Mom at 85 yo.

And through this pandemic she always reassures us that she's okay and just staying home. She's still up to her tricks because she told me earlier she went to our church last January! Good thing Kuya kept her drivers license. I'm sure she'd go out more if she had it. I'm also sure she stays more than 20 minutes when she tends to her garden. That's fine since it's an enclosed area. I just always hope and pray she'd be healthy and safe. 

Love you Mom forever <3

CB///Yr2/29  #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/56 #StayHome #BeKind   

10 Life Skills I Learned from My Mom

It's my Mom's birthday today! I super duper miss her already and wish I could hop on a plane to be with her today. I had a project I planned to do this year with my Mom since I wanted to learn more about her creative process. For now since we couldn't do it I've been sending her materials to keep her busy. 

1 - Praying 

The first thing I learned from Mom is how to pray. I still remember her teaching me how to pray before going to bed and she's the most prayerful person I know. Priority is to trust in Him for everything. 

2 - Diskarte 

One of the most important skills I learned from my Mom is diskarte. When I was growing up I witnessed my Mom working on one of the most important projects she worked on in her life -- helping get our parish church built. And Mom was in-charge of everything at home, so I saw her make things move. 

3 - Organization Skills

Ahh, I may not have picked up Mom's neatness (my home is permanently an organized chaos), but I could easily work out in my head how to deploy a project. Mom always had lists and she would tick things off when a task is completed. She's also great at anticipating things and would always be ready. 

4 - Keep Calm, Do Not Panic

Mom is the most calm person I know. I have never seen her panic. She'd always remind me there's no sense in panicking and it's just a waste of time. 

5 - Keeping Busy

Mom always complains that I never stop doing anything. Well, I got that from her. She's always doing something - sewing, gardening, reading, fixing the house etc. She's always up and about. So I never had issues being stuck at home.

6 -  Saving/Money Management!

Mom was a banker and of course I was one of those kids who had a Banco Filipino Happy Savers Club account! That's how I learned how to save. Originally I was planning to use my savings for my future wedding! I used it to pay for grad school. (More about money management here).

7 - Working for What You Want/Need

My Mom would always remind me that she won't be around forever. I had to learn to be independent. At the age of ten I was already selling things -- old clothes, my hand-made pincushions and homemade cards. If I wanted something, like a book, I'd have to save for it. 

8 - Can't Cook, No Problem!

See life skill number 2! And that's what the telephone is for according to my Mom. (It's my Dad who knew how to cook). 

9 - Girlfriends

Mom always told me to choose my friends carefully. Choose those you can trust and can count on. I have so many aunties who have always been there for Mom. 

10 - Be Yourself

You cannot please everyone, just be yourself and stay with people who have the same values as you.  

Happy birthday Mom! We miss you so much!

#CB//245 #StuckAtHomeDay/275 #WFH163 #StayHome #BeKind

My Fiery Side Comes from My Mom

I was looking at old black and white photos I scanned a few years ago and saw this photo of my Mom when she was young. She was sitting on a jeep with a camera on her hand.

My Mom told me that my Mama Lola was super strict when they were growing up. There were five of them so she run the household like a military academy (lol that's how my Mom described it). They were allowed to go out and attend bailehans (dance parties), but they had a curfew. Like all teenagers they had tricks up their sleeves. She said usually Tito Tony would adjust the clock two hours behind. When they got back really late they wouldn't get scolded.

The photo on the jeep reminded me of another kapilyuhan my Mom did together with her siblings. She learned to drive when she was just a teenager (I think around 15 or 16). It was Tito Ben who taught her how to drive. They would use Papa Lolo's jeep and they would drive around on it. My Mom told me this story several times and she always had a naughty sparkle in her eyes whenever she recounted it. She said they were always fearful because my Mama Lola was the boss and you'd never want to make her cross.

My Mom was always so conscious whenever I had wounds on my legs. She would get really upset whenever I had a wound or a bruise. The reason? She has a scar on her leg that she got playing in the batis when she was young. It was a constant reminder to her that she disobeyed Mama Lola. She never wanted me to have any scars on my legs and you can imagine what happened when I had a wound from skateboarding (one of my kapilyahans).

My Mom was so strict also when I was growing up. She was super strict until I got married! Looking back though I think I did exactly what she did when she was a teenager (and more actually hahaha).  My friends were super scared of my Mom when I was a teenager, but when we got older we actually hung out more at home. Mom always opened our home for me and my friends to hang out in and she still hosts our parties whenever we want to.

Sigh, I miss my Mom so much. Wish this pandemic would be over so I can go back home and be with her.

CB//121 #StuckAtHomeDay/151 #WFH88 #StayHome #BeKind

All That I Am is Because of Mom

We finally got to watch "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" last night. I was looking forward to watching this movie when it came out, but things got super busy and I missed it. I was ecstatic when I found it on Google Play Movies yesterday and watched it with Sweetie. I super love Mr. Rogers. I would always remember watching him every morning when I was four years old. It's one memory I could still remember vividly. I'd turn on the TV, wait patiently for the US national anthem to finish playing and then joyously await Mr. Rogers to come out and sing "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood". 

One of the memorable speeches that Mr. Rogers made was when he got an Emmy award. He said, "All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are. Those who have cared about you and wanted what was best for you in life. Ten seconds of silence. I’ll watch the time." It was included in another form in the movie and was a really good reminder to me to be grateful for everything I have been blessed with. 

The first person I thought about as I watched the scene in the movie* was my Mom. Growing up my Mom was very strict, but that's how she nurtured me to be who I am today. Every summer she taught me a new craft. She may not have taught me how to cook, but she taught me how to be street smart. She always found a way to work things out. Dad was the dreamer, but Mom is the executioner. I think I take more after my Mom than my Dad when it comes to work-style (the messy side of me comes from Dad hehe). 

All that I am is because of my Mom. Thank you Mom, happy Mother's day. Love you <3  

*where Mr. Rogers asked the journalist to take a minute to think about the people who helped him become who he is

#CB34 #StayHome #BeKind

Growing Up

Dad's been gone for almost two years now. I realized that today when Mom pointed it out during her lunch birthday celebration. I was a total mess two years ago when the doctor gave us the bad news. Dad was going to go whether we liked it or not and he was ready for it. I wasn't.

So many things have changed since that time. I moved to Singapore. Miguel's in university. Another uncle passed away. I didn't know that there would come a time you have to double up and be stronger, not only for yourself, but also for a parent.

I've always been the baby in the family (still am!), but my parents always had to get me out of trouble whenever I called for help. When Dad got sick I realized it was time to fully fend for myself and my own family. I didn't want to burden my Mom with trivial matters in my life since she had her hands full taking care of my Dad.

I'm home now for Christmas and will be focusing on my family only for the next few weeks. It feels like I've been away for such a long time and I was surprised to see our choir babies have grown up so fast. The little boys who we used to scold because they were too fidgety during mass are now all taller than me. The little girls have now become conscious about how they look and have been styling themselves whenever they hear mass. Me and my housemate (who's also my neighbor in Manila) can now look back at the crazy things we used to do when we were growing up.

Growing up ain't that bad... except for the bills that keep coming every month! I can say that I love my age now because I've gotten rid of being angst-y, emo whenever I face "disruptions". Of course there are days when I still get blue and mope-y, but life is such and must be lived with faith and love.

Happy birthday Mom! Things are turning out quite like what you've always wanted it to be. I love you.

My Mom, the Adventurista

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

I've learned so much from my Mom. Of course, she's my first teacher and I remember when I was a tiny kid she encouraged me to read and write a lot. She also did the same thing to Miguel since I left him with her during the day when I was in school and when I was already working. The summers that I spent playing with Lego also included dabbling on doing crafts. She would park me on the lawn in the afternoons on a banig with stuff to do - sewing dresses for my Barbie (it's still around somewhere), making pincushions which we sold in the parish bazaar, quilting or painting pots. She always kept me busy and I think that's why I can never sit still doing nothing.

I also think I got my adventurous, "lakwatsera" side from her. She started bringing me to the beach when I was just 8 months old and I we always had expeditions every year to Bicol with our neighbors. She's also into organizing events, especially fund raising activities (she still has that hatak). I don't really know how she does it, but everything she does is successful. She just does things to make it work. I don't think she'll blog though, she's not keen on writing (so that bit I got from my Dad), and you won't be able to get her to hold any high-ranking position in any organization, but she's an influencer nonetheless. She says she'd rather do things than lead. Oh and how can I forget how we both could magically make food appear on the table with our fingers. Her motto, "Let's your fingers do the walking!" (Ahhh that's probably why I dreamed of working for the yellow pages when I was a kid! And I did!).

Since most of the Mom bloggers were out of town last Friday for the Clara Ole event, I asked my Mom if she wanted to go with me and mentioned that she could bring her friends. I assumed she didn't want to go since she doesn't really like going to the mall and crowded places. I was really surprised when she asked me an hour before the event what time we should be there since she was going with her friends. Huwhaaaattt?!? LOL. She never fails to surprise me.

Always Game

So, off we went to Taste Asia for the Clara Ole event. I felt kinda pressured since I had my Mom and 3 Titas! So I felt like I had 4 moms yesterday since all of them have been my Mom's friends since I was a baby. Anyway, I was quite apprehensive since I didn't know how they'd react about the event. We first sat in the workshop on fashion. I know my Mom and my Titas weren't really into fixing themselves up, but I was again surprised when they were game about mixing and matching clothing.


Blessed

It's my Dad who's very lucky when it comes to raffle games. He always brings home the grand prize whenever he attends parties. Me and my Mom rarely win anything, but yesterday was a lucky, lucky day. The whole Sun Valley contingent (that's us) won several times in the raffle! One of my titas won thrice (a saucepan, a MNG cologne and a one-year magazine subscription). My Mom also won a MNG lotion which I promptly confiscated from her hehehe. [In the photo is my Mom with the event host, Dominic Ochoa (don't worry Dom I'm not going to blog about the stuff we chatted about!).] My Mom always reminds me to count my blessings and to thank God for it.

I had to leave my Mom and my Titas at Taste Asia since I had another appointment to attend. My apprehensions were actually shushed when my Tita said, "Huwag ka mag-alala okay kami dito kasi masaya!" My Mom reported during dinner last night that they actually finished the event (I was shocked!) since they had a grand time attending the stress management and make-over session. My Mom said that she even volunteered to be made-over (I'm having a heart-attack now...) and that they loved the food that was served and enjoyed the cooking demo.

I was really, really surprised my Mom finished the whole event and she said that my Titas want to attend more events of that kind. Thanks Clara Ole and SM!

Clara Ole

If you're wondering who Clara Ole is, you've probably encountered their products inserted as samples in some of the local women's magazines. I love eating salads and Clara Ole has a number of salad dressings available in supermarkets now. I love the honey mustard and asian dressing! I can imagine myself opening a can of tuna in brine and then tossing it with the Clara Ole salad dressing. Ulam na siya! Wasabi was quite interesting too. I can't wait to try out the loot my Mom managed to bring home. I was surprised to see a number of new stuff in the kitchen cabinet, including chocolate syrup! Ahhh... chocolate marble hotcakes for merienda!

Love you Mom. Mwah.